This episode of the podcast is with Erin Elo! Erin was my supervisor when I worked at the Forestville Teen Clinic, and I am so thankful that Erin agreed to be a guest on the podcast.
This conversation has been really meaningful to me on many levels.
During my time at the Teen Clinic, Erin was my boss — but also a friend and someone who deeply inspired me. I’ve always struggled with the feeling of not being “good enough”, but Erin’s leadership example and their support of my work and visions helped me to believe in myself and my ability to be a leader during this time period.
Erin also impacted me on a personal level. During my time working with Erin, I was hiding to my queerness from myself (“well, I like cis-men too, so it’ll just be easier to be straight!'“), but my time with Erin, who is out and a fierce advocate for queer people, gave me a different possibility of sexual orientation than the one I’d grown up with. When I think back to those two and a half years and what followed, I think being around Erin and talking to them and seeing the work that they were doing at the time gave me & my body the safety they needed to finally acknowledge my whole self.
It feels full circle that we had the conversation that we did in this podcast, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since we recorded it last month. I think there’s something quite magical about the way that universe can bring people and experiences into your life at just the right moments :)
About Erin (no pronouns, just Erin is preferred, she/her/they/them is ok):
Erin is a Youth and Gender Programs Manager for West County Health Centers (a Federally Qualified Health Center in Sonoma County, California). Erin has worked with youth since they were a young person themselves: an early passion bestowed upon them by the youth workers who made a difference in their young life.
Erin is most excited about serving historically underserved and marginalized communities and working within service areas that are seen as taboo or controversial. Though Erin doesn’t specialize specifically in any field, Erin has trained in many fields to address the needs of their community. Erin is a phlebotomist, abortion doula, sex educator and youth worker. Erin’s heart is in the work and they hope all their clients feel seen and are met just where they are.
In Erin’s personal life, plants, family, nature and crafting bring great joy. Erin is a chronic illness warrior and this helps to remind them to slow down sometimes. Core values of Erin’s life are harm reduction and consent. If Erin could leave folks with a message, they would want folks to remember, we are all human, we are all worthy and inherently there is nothing wrong with any of us!
In the podcast we talk about:
Introduction to Erin & the work they do
What Erin picked up (and didn’t pick up!) about gender & sexual orientation from seeing relationships around her
Coming out in college & how Erin told people in their life
Erin’s journey to being a sex educator and youth services manager
What motivates Erin to work with youth in this field
How Erin’s work has changed over the past ten years and what they are doing now
Erin’s take on pleasure (spoiler: it’s not just about orgasm!)
What Erin has done to bring more pleasure into their life (including what they’ve done differently in communicating with their partner!)
How polyamory & letting go of cis-het norms has impacted Erin’s sex life
Lessons that young people have taught Erin
Erin’s advice for parents – including how you can incorporate more consent into your parenting
The programs that Erin runs at West County (including a trans accessory program) and how folks can support these programs
Youth Services at WCHC
Medical Care: sexual health and education, birth control options and emergency, pregnancy testing and options counseling including referrals for abortion or pregnancy care for pregnant people, STI testing and treatment, PEP and PrEP for HIV prevention, urinary and genital infection testing and treatment, cervical cancer screening, pelvic exams
Mental healthcare and referrals
Food bank and food resources
Peer education and support
Substance use harm reduction program: harm reducation counseling and overdose prevention, safe needle exchange (for all ages), narcan distribution
Gender Affirming care: informational consults tailored towards individual goals, gender journey support for young people and their families/friends/partners, name and gender marker change support, support for social transition and referrals to commmunity based groups, consults and ongoing care with trans-affirming medical providers and therapists, hormone initiation and mangement including puberty suppression, gender care navigation including letters of support for specialists and referrals
Resource support and navigation assistance
LGBTQIA+ friendly care
How to support the work Erin & her team do at WCHC:
Erin does not have a platform they would like to share personally. To reach out to Erin professionally, their email is eelo@wchealth.org. If you would like to donate to Erin’s work and the young people they serve, you can make a donation at https://www.wchealth.org/help/donations/ and then shoot Erin an email so they know to look out for the donation.
You can also follow and support the Teen Clinic on Instagram: wcteenclinic
I hope that this episode helps you feel a little bit less alone in your experience with sexuality and gender. Thank you so much to Erin for sharing her story with us!!
Thank you for reading the thecuriousclit, my newsletter + podcast where I hope to spark curiosity and conversations about sex and our bodies. Most of the posts in this publication are free, but if you’d like to support my work and the de-stigmatization of sexuality, you can like, comment, and/or share my posts, become a paid subscriber, follow my Instagram, or check out the embodiment classes I offer for people who identify as women, trans, and non-binary <3
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